Manufacture of footwear



July 20 1926.

w. c. CARD, JR

MANUFACTURE OF FOOTWEAR Filed Dec. 24, 1925 77012677290 7" 7 WZZZLUJW/ C. C'wT'd Patented July 20, 1926.

' UNITED STATES WILLIAM C. CARD, JR., 015 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MANUFACTURE OF FOOTWEAR.

Application filed December 24, 1925. Serial No. 77,464.

This invention pertains to the manufacture of footwear and more particularly to the provision upon the surface of the sole of a boot, shoe or the like of a mark or 6 marks of ornamental or other character, for example such marks as are customarily made at the location of the usual tack holes on the bottom of a turn shoe. These marks are sometimes used to disguise the slight blemish occasioned by the presence of the tack hole and since the trade has thus become accustomed to seeing these marks or the tack holes themselves at certain parts of the shoe bottom it has become the custom to apply such marks whether or not the tack holes are actually present.

Usually these marks are made by use of a hand tool and since the marks must be impressed into the surface of the shoe sole and must be positioned with accuracy the operation as usually performed is slow, and laborious and adds materially to the production cost.

In accordance with my present invention I have devised a method, and apparatus for carrying it into effect, by means of which the desired marks may be made upon the shoe sole with great rapidity as compared with the prior mode of operation, with great accuracy, and with far less fatigue to the operator.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated certain steps in the practice of my method together with the ap aratus for performin form 0 such apparatus. I

In the drawings, I

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of referred apparatus for use in performing t e herein de' scribed process, s owing a shoe as positioned at the beginning of the operation;

- Fig. 2 is a vertical'section to larger scale substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1:;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary bottom view of a shoe showing the results of the present process;

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the end of the marking tool employed for makin the marks shown on the bottom of the s 0c of Fig. 3;

Fig. showing certain of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1 at a later stage in and I Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation i1- lustrating modified apparatus.

- abutment is normally suchmethod, as wel as a modified 5' is a fragmentary side elevation the operation Referring to the drawings the numeral 1 deslgnates a supporting foot adapted to be attached by bolts 2 or other suitable securing means to a bench or other proper support. This foot 2 carries an overhangmg arm 3 preferably integral with the foot and Whlch is provided at its outer end with a bearing member 4 preferably integral with the arm 3.

Referring more especially to Fig. 2, the bearing member 4 is provided with an internal vertical bore, the lower end of which is preferably enlarged and internally screw threaded for the reception of a tool-guidmg nose-piece 5.

T he upper part of the bore in the member 4 receives a vertically sliding hammer 6, the lower end of which is furnished with an axlal cavity 7 of a diameter just sufiicient to receive the shank 8 of the marking tool.

The upper part of the shank 8 of the marking tool is preferably guided in an axial opening m a sleeve 9 having threaded engagement with the upper end of the member 5. The hammer 6 is provided with a transverse opening at a point spaced a short distance from its lower endand this openmg forms a guide for an abutment slide 10. This slide is furnished with a bore of substantially the same size as the chamber 7 1n the lower end of the hammer but this held in the" position shown 1n Fig. 2 with its bore out of ali ment with the chamber 7 by means 0? a spring 11.

The central part of the bore in the guide 4- is of larger diameter than the hammer 6 and the upper portion of this enlarged part of the bore is furnished with upwardly tapermg walls 12 adapted, as the abutment 10 is moved upwardly, to bring the abutment into concentric relation with the hammer.

A light spring 13 is interposed between the sleeve 9 and a collar 13 secured to the shank 8 of the tool. A second spring 14 bears against the upper end of the hammer 6 and may be tensioned by means of a rotary cap 15 having threaded engagement with a tubular extension 4 of the member 4.

The lower end of the shank 16 is provided with means for holding a removable tool. As here shown the lower end of the shank is furnished with a screw-threaded axial bore for the reception of a threaded projection u n the u per end of the tool 17. The tool 1 is provi ed a its lower end with a mark-.

ing face 18 of any desired configuration adapted to make marks 19 of the desired character upon the surface of the sole of a shoe S.

In the modified arrangement shown in Fig. (5 the bracket 3" forms a fixed support for marking means comprising a guide member 1 similar to the guide 4 above described ai'id which carries the marking tool 17. The bracket 3 is also provided with means such, for example, as the sleeve portion 20 for adjustably supporting a second marking device. This second marking device as here shown comprises a stem 21 slidin in the sleeve 20 and carrying a guide 22 similar to the guide member 24 for a tool 23. The stem 21 may be secured in adjusted position by means of a clamping member 24.

In forming the desired mark upon the surface of the shoe sole by means of the apparatus shown in Fi s. 1 to 5 the operator grasps the shoe in his hands, holding it in inverted position with the sole upward, and moves the sole relatively to the tool 17 until the end 18 of the tool is positioned at the exact spot where the mark is desired. The operator now lifts the shoe while in contact with the tool thus forcing the tool and its shank upwardly. Since the upper end of the shank 8 bears against the abutment 10 the latter is forced upwardly and thus carries the hammer 6 upwardly and compresses the actuating spring 14. The operator continues to move the shoe upwardly in this manner until it reaches a position such as indicated in Fig. 5, at which time the spring 14 is compressed and the abutment 10 has reached the tapering ortion 12 of the bore in the guide 4. A sight further upward movement of the shoe causes the abutment 10 to move transversely until its bore is concentric with the upper end of the shank 8. This permits the shank of the tool to enter the bore in the abutment member, thus suddenly releasing the energy stored in the spring 14, and permittingthe hammer to strike a sharp blow upon the upper end of the tool shank, driving the shank downwardly and impressing the face 18 of the tool in the surface of the shoe.

The operator now moves the shoe downwardly to disengage it from the tool and if a second mark is required repeatsthe operation after having moved the shoe to bring the tool into engagement with that point of the sole at which the second mark is desired.

In the arrangement shown in Fi 6, two marks may be formed simultaneous y in the shoe sole, and these marks may be spaced apart the desired amount b adjusting the stem 21 in the sleeve 20. he operationis performed substantially as above described except that in bringing the shoe into contact with the marking tools the operator must use care to bring both tools into engagement with the pointsat which-the marks are desired before the shoe is moved upwardly to store up the energy necessary for producing the marking blow.

While the apparatushere shown is suitable for practising the process herein described, it is contemplated that other mechanical devices may be found suitable for the purpose, it being regarded as essential that the marking device be carried by a fixed support such that the operator may employ both hands for holding the shoe and bring-- ing it accurately into contact with the markin too], while it is also regarded as desirab e to employ a tool which must, for its proper operation, be moved from normal position by the pressure of the shoe thereagainst, since this prevents relative movement of the shoe and tool in the interval between the first placing of the shoe in contact with the tool and the delivery of the marking blow.

I claim:

1. That method which comprises as steps bodily moving a shoe to bring that point of the outer surface of the shoe sole at which it is desired to form a mark into contact with a normally stationa but movable tool biased to remain in pre etermined normal position, moving the shoe in a direction substantially normal to the surface of the sole whereby to ush the tool out of its normal position whi e storing energy tending to return it to normal osition, and suddenly releasing said store energy to deliver a blow to the tool.

2. That method which comprises gras ing a shoe in the hands and holding its so e upwards, bringing that point of the shoe sole at which it is desired to make a mark accurately into contact with the operative face of a normally stationary but upwardly movable marking tool, lifting the shoe while in contact with the tool while gradually storing up energy tending to restore the tool to normal position, and suddenly releasing such stored energy while maintaining the shoe substantially at the upper limit of its movement.

3. Apparatus for marking shoe soles comprising a fixed guide sleeve, a normally stationary but movable marking tool sliding in said sleeve, said tool having an operative face spaced from adjacent parts a suiiicient distance to permit a shoe to be placed in operative position with its sole in contact with said face, actuating means for imparting an operative movement to the tool, and releasing means controlled by pressure of a shoe sole against the operative face of the tool to permit said actuating means to cause the tool to deliver a sudden blow to the shoe.

4. Apparatus for marking shoe soles comprising a fixed guide sleeve, a normally stationary but movable marking tool-sliding in marking tool, a

said sleeve, face spaced distance to erative position with its sole in contact with said face, and means for converting force, gradually applied to the shoe in such a man ner as to move the tool from its normal position, into a sudden blow for driving the face of the tool toward the shoe sole.

5. Apparatus for marking shoe soles comprising a normally stationary reciprccable fixed guide for said tool, so disposed relative to adto permit the sole of a shoe to be presented thereto, and a spring opposing movement of the tool from normal position, said tool moving from its normal position under the thrust of a shoe sole pressed against it thereby storing energy in the spring, and means operative automatically when a predetermined amount of energy has been stored in the spring to release such energy and transmit it in the form of a'blow til the tool to drive the latter toward the s 0e.

6. Apparatus for marking shoe soles comprising a foot and a fixed overhanging arm having a fixed guide sleeve for a normally stationary reciprocable marking tool,

said tool being jacent parts as said tool being so disposed relative to adjacent parts as to permit the sole of a shoe to be presented thereto, means tendin to hold the tool in a normal predetermined position, a hammer for imparting a blow to the tool, means operable by movement of the tool from its normal position under pressure of a shoe against its operative face for gradually storing up energy to actuate the hammer, and means for suddenly releasing such energy to cause the hammer to strike the tool and drive the latter toward the shoe.

7. Apparatus for marking a shoe sole simultaneously at a plurality of spaced points oomprising'a support, a plurality of rela tively a justable normally fixed guide sleeves, a normally stationary marking tool reciprocable in each guide sleeve, the respective tools having operating faces engageable with the surface of a shoe sole at the points at which the several marks are desired, the several tools being movable from normal position by pressure of the shoe sole thereagainst, and means for imparting a sudden blow to the several tools while they occupy such abnormal position.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 12th day of December, 1925.

WILLIAM G. CARD, JR. 

